During a recent introduction to FreeCAD workshop that I teach at The
Edge, I got asked an awesome question that actually
had me a little stumped: “Is Polyvinyl Alcohol the same as what is in PVA
glue?”

You see, I was giving a little bit of a run down on the different materials
that can be used in Fused Deposition 3D printers (aka RepRap and Makerbot). I
was telling everyone about the wonders of PVA or Polyvinyl Alcohol. A water
soluble plastic that is awesome for printing support structures or
scaffolding. When you are done, just throw it in a tub of water and your
scaffolding dissolves away - just leaving you with your desired
object.

Answer

So is the above Polyvinyl
Alcohol the same as what you
find in PVA glue? Nope! It turns out PVA glue is actually PVAc, or
Polyvinyl Acetate. You can
however turn PVA glue into the cool plastic above by dissolving it in Alcohol
and treating it with sodium
hydroxide. So, just when you thought PVA glue couldn’t be any more awesome and
useful, you find out that it can be turned into an awesome material for 3D
printers.

Hi! Subconsciously you already know this, but let's make it obvious. Hopefully this article was helpful. You might also find yourself following a link to Amazon, Lego or eBay to learn more about parts or equipment. If you end up placing an order, I make a couple of dollarydoos. We aren't talking a rapper lifestyle of supercars and yachts, but it does help pay for the stuff you see here. So a massive shoutout to everyone that enables this place. Thanks!